Clive Antony

As the founder and Director of his own creative agency, Mates Social Media, Clive and his team have the exciting and rewarding task of supporting local businesses grow their media and marketing strategies.

‘I get to meet different people on a daily basis and help to solve commercial marketing problem with a creative lens. Every day is just totally different,’ he says.

Mates Social Media produces a large volume of creative content, such as video campaigns, for businesses that may not have the resources to maintain their social media presence. This builds on Clive’s studies in both Political Science and Business Management, as well as a variety of work experiences and projects in marketing throughout study.

‘My social media specialisation is in the political sphere. I’m lucky enough to speak to political organisations and consult them on how to further promote democracy!’

Clive believes he owes a lot to his journey at UC, saying ‘it’s the student culture that makes UC the best campus’.

‘The UC environment more than anything has been huge for my preparation. The people I’ve met and the opportunities that have come out of it is nearly impossible to quantify! The opportunities to explore and culture to be a part of is awesome and nothing like any other university in New Zealand.’

Being particularly passionate about politics and humanities put him on the path for a Political Science undergraduate degree with an emphasis on Philosophy.

Also as a fan of musical theatre, Clive spent a large part of his university career in MUSOC musical theatre club, initially playing parts in productions, before becoming an executive member, and later President of the club for two years. Handling the business side of budgeting and finding sponsorship for their large musical productions motivated him onto postgraduate study with the Master of Business Management (MBM).

‘If you love what you are studying, you’ll be that much more motivated to find a way to use your degree,’ he says. ‘Political Science has lots of traditional pathways but the skills you learn are also extremely transferable into other industries. My postgraduate study was to give my undergrad another edge to stand out.’

Completing an internship managing corporate social media through the PACE 395 course also helped inspire his new pathway into the MBM.

‘It was a good way to get to know Christchurch businesses better and learn in a more practical environment.

‘In a full circle moment, my business took on a PACE student over the summer. It was such a good way to give back to the University, and this particular student provided so much value to the company she’s now coming on as part-time employee!’

To extend his skills beyond study, Clive joined the UC Centre for Entrepreneurship (UCE) during his first year of the MBM, and went onto founding ethical clothing company Mallu with other UC students under a UCE Summer Start-up Scholarship. The company employed women in Calcutta who were previously in the sex trade to create sustainable clothing items.

All of his experiences in social media and marketing led Clive to launch Mates Social Media, as a way to help share his skills with corporates from a more personal and easy-going approach.

Clive also worked briefly with the UC Marketing team on the UC Me campaign, which helped launch his company further.

‘I’m really privileged to be an employer ensuring that my team has a really good environment to work in and that I’m creating a culture and business that they continually want to be a part of,’ he says.

‘I want to keep growing my business to reach a stage where we get to work on flagship, high production advertising material.’